My reasons why - coming soon!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Is Franken-Castle just what the Punisher needs or a crotch punch to common sense?
Frank Castle + Frankenstein = Frankencastle.
Math the Marvel way!
I'm not sure if I can recall the last time a story line in a comic has had my brain so twisted up and unsure what to think.
It's perplexing.
It's preposterous.
It's a slap in the face.
It's...so ridiculous and over the top that it's kind of enjoyable.
(There will be spoilers and plot points talked about from here out)
As you may or may not know, last fall during Marvel's over-long Dark Reign storyline Frank Castle a.k.a The Punisher, was brutally killed by Daken, Wolverine's Son a.k.a Dark Wolverine.
I'm not talking about stabbed in the chest or some other mortal wound that Frank is usually able to rub some dirt on and be fine an issue later. The Punisher had his head chopped off and his body cut up into little idy bidy pieces.
Good thing that Man-Thing and some Moloids show up to collect the pieces and take them down to their secret lair in the old Morlock tunnels where Morbius, yes that Morbius, and the Legion of Monsters reconstruct Frank to defend them against a group of crazy Samurai from Japan who have swore to abolish all monsters because they got tired of Godzilla stepping on their stuff all the time.
Yeah, re-read that sentence because that just happened.
The first few issue of the arc I was in absolute shock. I didn't like it one bit.
What the hell was this? This isn't my Punisher, this isn't what I come to expect when I read a Punisher comic. It has taken me a long time to start coming around to thinking that maybe this is a good thing. In fact it was one particular panel that turned it all around for me - Frank on the back of a dragon with a heavy caliber machine gun leading an assault on a castle full of samurai.
Rick Remender is the brains behind this drastic change of pace. He's been writing Frank's mainstream Marvel adventures for the past few years and done an admirable job in my estimation. He is also the creator/writer of "Fear Agent" which happens to be one of the best sci-fi adventure comics you can find on the shelf. So he is a man whose work I have an appreciation for but I'll be damned if I didn't think he'd lost his mind.
With his frequent collaborator, the super talented Tony Moore on pencils, these two men didn't just turn the Punisher on his head, they literally chopped it off. And I was pretty sure I hated it.
Now I've been known to hang on to certain comics for too long before finally jumping ship and cutting the book off my pull board, hoping against hope that sunny days will come again.I was not expecting for this storyline and direction to grow on me.
Now please keep in mind we all know that Marvel isn't going to keep Frank this way forever. I was just pretty damn sure that I didn't want to bear witness to this insane journey he would be a part of. Part of what I think has allowed me to enjoy this story to the extent I have is that I know I can grab a copy of the the current and excellent PunisherMax series by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon and get the type of Punisher story I am accustomed to.
This wasn't always the case when in the past certain titles would go off the rails. Spider-Man is a book that comes to mind. The last time I flipped my lid with that book was the whole Gwen Stacy/Norman Osborn affair.
One reason why I feel that this story is worth a look is due to my ever growing complaint that too many comics are happy playing it safe and never allowing the characters to grow.
It's no secret that this is the age of decompressed storytelling in comics. Whether or not you think this a good or bad thing is to individual tastes. But for the most part there can be no real everlasting change made to a character. No matter how long you read comics - Peter Parker will be Spider-Man. Sure events may unfold that take him out of the costume from time to time, but he will never die and stay dead. So we have to accept that Frank Castle as we know him will be back eventually. It's another sad aspect of Marvel and DC characters is that these fantastic characters that we have grown up with are really nothing more then potential paydays.
But that is a topic for another time.
Franken-Castle is a story that allows Frank to see his black and white world with a nice shade of gray. Its become a pretty interesting method for Frank to reflect on himself in ways we've not seen in the 30 some years since the character debuted. But I know it's not for everyone. For every person who likes it, I find one who doesn't.
So why recommend it?
Because I do feel it is a story that deserves to be read. If you can get past what's on the surface you might find a Punisher story that is to your liking....just in a way you probably weren't expecting.
Oh and did I mention that Frank rides on the back of a dragon while firing a mounted machine gun?
Math the Marvel way!
I'm not sure if I can recall the last time a story line in a comic has had my brain so twisted up and unsure what to think.
It's perplexing.
It's preposterous.
It's a slap in the face.
It's...so ridiculous and over the top that it's kind of enjoyable.
(There will be spoilers and plot points talked about from here out)
As you may or may not know, last fall during Marvel's over-long Dark Reign storyline Frank Castle a.k.a The Punisher, was brutally killed by Daken, Wolverine's Son a.k.a Dark Wolverine.
I'm not talking about stabbed in the chest or some other mortal wound that Frank is usually able to rub some dirt on and be fine an issue later. The Punisher had his head chopped off and his body cut up into little idy bidy pieces.
Good thing that Man-Thing and some Moloids show up to collect the pieces and take them down to their secret lair in the old Morlock tunnels where Morbius, yes that Morbius, and the Legion of Monsters reconstruct Frank to defend them against a group of crazy Samurai from Japan who have swore to abolish all monsters because they got tired of Godzilla stepping on their stuff all the time.
Yeah, re-read that sentence because that just happened.
The first few issue of the arc I was in absolute shock. I didn't like it one bit.
What the hell was this? This isn't my Punisher, this isn't what I come to expect when I read a Punisher comic. It has taken me a long time to start coming around to thinking that maybe this is a good thing. In fact it was one particular panel that turned it all around for me - Frank on the back of a dragon with a heavy caliber machine gun leading an assault on a castle full of samurai.
Rick Remender is the brains behind this drastic change of pace. He's been writing Frank's mainstream Marvel adventures for the past few years and done an admirable job in my estimation. He is also the creator/writer of "Fear Agent" which happens to be one of the best sci-fi adventure comics you can find on the shelf. So he is a man whose work I have an appreciation for but I'll be damned if I didn't think he'd lost his mind.
With his frequent collaborator, the super talented Tony Moore on pencils, these two men didn't just turn the Punisher on his head, they literally chopped it off. And I was pretty sure I hated it.
Now I've been known to hang on to certain comics for too long before finally jumping ship and cutting the book off my pull board, hoping against hope that sunny days will come again.I was not expecting for this storyline and direction to grow on me.
Now please keep in mind we all know that Marvel isn't going to keep Frank this way forever. I was just pretty damn sure that I didn't want to bear witness to this insane journey he would be a part of. Part of what I think has allowed me to enjoy this story to the extent I have is that I know I can grab a copy of the the current and excellent PunisherMax series by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon and get the type of Punisher story I am accustomed to.
This wasn't always the case when in the past certain titles would go off the rails. Spider-Man is a book that comes to mind. The last time I flipped my lid with that book was the whole Gwen Stacy/Norman Osborn affair.
One reason why I feel that this story is worth a look is due to my ever growing complaint that too many comics are happy playing it safe and never allowing the characters to grow.
It's no secret that this is the age of decompressed storytelling in comics. Whether or not you think this a good or bad thing is to individual tastes. But for the most part there can be no real everlasting change made to a character. No matter how long you read comics - Peter Parker will be Spider-Man. Sure events may unfold that take him out of the costume from time to time, but he will never die and stay dead. So we have to accept that Frank Castle as we know him will be back eventually. It's another sad aspect of Marvel and DC characters is that these fantastic characters that we have grown up with are really nothing more then potential paydays.
But that is a topic for another time.
Franken-Castle is a story that allows Frank to see his black and white world with a nice shade of gray. Its become a pretty interesting method for Frank to reflect on himself in ways we've not seen in the 30 some years since the character debuted. But I know it's not for everyone. For every person who likes it, I find one who doesn't.
So why recommend it?
Because I do feel it is a story that deserves to be read. If you can get past what's on the surface you might find a Punisher story that is to your liking....just in a way you probably weren't expecting.
Oh and did I mention that Frank rides on the back of a dragon while firing a mounted machine gun?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009
So late to the party it is almost too sad for words.
Most people know I love my x-box 360.
Most people also I know I don't get to play it nearly as much as I would like.
Most people also I know I don't get to play it nearly as much as I would like.
So I'd like to announce that over the past five days I've gone completley crazy for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Yes. I know Modern Warfare 2 just came out...
I don't care - this one is what I'm playing now and it's awesome!
Friday, November 13, 2009
I found my breaking point - It's $3.99
So over the summer I rebelled against the idea of purchasing only trade paperback collections of my favorite comics.
I like buying the monthlies, The way they are made, the way they feel in your hand and all the little bonuses like the letters columns and even the promo's for upcoming titles. The only down side are the ads and those have had a place in comics since the very begining so who am I to question their place in the books. Although on a side note, they could be placed a little better than they are currently. I'm looking at you DC and Marvel.
So all seemed right in my little world of tights and capes. I was happily getting many a title and enjoying myself.
Then one day a few months back a rather heavy week of books arrived on my doorstep (I get my books weekly through a mail order service) and I saw how much that weeks books came to.
My eyes just about exploded in my head.
Now, I can't claim ignorance, I knew full well that some books were hitting at a higher price point than others and I keep adding books to my pull list in some sort of delirium that is now long since vanished.
Also of note is the fact that I recieve a very generous discount from my comic book store - 35%. You can't help but want to vomit blood when a week worth of books comes to near $100 AFTER your 35% discount.
So my gut reaction was to gut my pull list immediatly.
Cooler heads have since prevailed.
I dropped any upcoming mini series that were not yet started. Sorry Dark Reign: Ares. Took a hard look at my entire pull board and decided if I'm not absolutly loving a title I had to let it go. Apologies Red Robin. Next I took an even harder look and decided that if I'm paying $3.99 for a book it better have some extra content. So long Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Avengers.
But the choice was made. A new books that is tagged with a $3.99 cover price cannot be added to my pull list unless something else goes.
Now I can't claim this to be a perfect system. Pleanty of $3.99 titles still exist on my board. New & Dark Avengers leap out right off the bat. My rationale for keeping them around is that I'm this invested in the Dark Reign storyline I'll be damned if I drop thos books before the big payoff in "The Siege" story starting in a month or two.
DC recently increased the price of several of their titles but decided to add new back-up stories with character whos books were concelled. I liked this idea and to the most part I can support this. However, two books to feature this were recently dropped from my board because honeslty I wasn't digging the titles that much or in some cases the back-up were more interesting then the main story which didn't justify the cover price in my mind.
Marvel has recently started to add back-up features to help offset the $3.99 price point. Incredible Hulk & Incredible Hercules are now homes the new She-Hulk and Agents of Atlas tales respectivly. It's a nicer way of getting $3.99 out of my pocket then with the aformentioned Dark & New Avengers and the new line of Ultimate books. Also of note is that all new mini series being produced by Marvel are $3.99 as well. Some of those mini's feature back-up stores, mostly reprints of old material. To me that's not worth it.
That's not to say the $2.99 books are now safe. Red Robin, Gotham City Sirens & New Mutants are just some of the books I've dialed back on becasue they didn't really grab me.
While it may not be an entirly accurate statment, right now I view DC and Marvel as more of corporation than I do comic book companies. I feel a real disconnect between the the readers and the material. That may be just me. As far I know I'm the only guy who reads Blackest Night and doesn't have an errection while reading it.
This past year Top Cow had made a vow to hold their $2.99 price point. It was a bold statment and one that I found to be very comforting. Perhaps as a smaller publisher they can more readily relate to the woes that many of their customers are feeling financialy. Perhaps they saw a chance to win over other readers who would not be able to keep up with the rising cost of a comic. Whatever it was, for me it worked. I've been steadily increasing my purchases of their titles throughout the year. And while I hope they can hold the line at $2.99 for a while longer, I am well aware that they are in this to be a sucessful company and generate profit. This is America baby, capitalism drives this machine so I can understand if they raise prices. Right now they garnered a lot of good will from me, as has Image as a whole right now. I get the kind of vibe from them that Marvel and DC maybe used to have. But I'm only an outsider - I may be reading this all wrong.
If books like Withcblade, The Darkness or other Image titles like Invincible, Haunt or Spawn raised prices it would be a tough call to make on who would stay and who would go. At this moment my brain says I'd be looking to drop more Marvel or DC titles.
So maybe $3.99 isn't a hard line on my pull board. I'm getting the new PunisherMAX book after all. but it's the sort of invisible boundry that has forced me to really evaluate what I'm reading and just how much I'm enjoying books. Am I reading a title out of a loyalty to the character? Some sort of completionist mentaility? Or just some sick desire to try and read it all?
Whatever the case was, it is no more. I work hard for my money and I'll be damned if I just give it away anymore.
Besides, if I wait long enough I can raid the dollar bins at comic conventions!
I like buying the monthlies, The way they are made, the way they feel in your hand and all the little bonuses like the letters columns and even the promo's for upcoming titles. The only down side are the ads and those have had a place in comics since the very begining so who am I to question their place in the books. Although on a side note, they could be placed a little better than they are currently. I'm looking at you DC and Marvel.
So all seemed right in my little world of tights and capes. I was happily getting many a title and enjoying myself.
Then one day a few months back a rather heavy week of books arrived on my doorstep (I get my books weekly through a mail order service) and I saw how much that weeks books came to.
My eyes just about exploded in my head.
Now, I can't claim ignorance, I knew full well that some books were hitting at a higher price point than others and I keep adding books to my pull list in some sort of delirium that is now long since vanished.
Also of note is the fact that I recieve a very generous discount from my comic book store - 35%. You can't help but want to vomit blood when a week worth of books comes to near $100 AFTER your 35% discount.
So my gut reaction was to gut my pull list immediatly.
Cooler heads have since prevailed.
I dropped any upcoming mini series that were not yet started. Sorry Dark Reign: Ares. Took a hard look at my entire pull board and decided if I'm not absolutly loving a title I had to let it go. Apologies Red Robin. Next I took an even harder look and decided that if I'm paying $3.99 for a book it better have some extra content. So long Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Avengers.
But the choice was made. A new books that is tagged with a $3.99 cover price cannot be added to my pull list unless something else goes.
Now I can't claim this to be a perfect system. Pleanty of $3.99 titles still exist on my board. New & Dark Avengers leap out right off the bat. My rationale for keeping them around is that I'm this invested in the Dark Reign storyline I'll be damned if I drop thos books before the big payoff in "The Siege" story starting in a month or two.
DC recently increased the price of several of their titles but decided to add new back-up stories with character whos books were concelled. I liked this idea and to the most part I can support this. However, two books to feature this were recently dropped from my board because honeslty I wasn't digging the titles that much or in some cases the back-up were more interesting then the main story which didn't justify the cover price in my mind.
Marvel has recently started to add back-up features to help offset the $3.99 price point. Incredible Hulk & Incredible Hercules are now homes the new She-Hulk and Agents of Atlas tales respectivly. It's a nicer way of getting $3.99 out of my pocket then with the aformentioned Dark & New Avengers and the new line of Ultimate books. Also of note is that all new mini series being produced by Marvel are $3.99 as well. Some of those mini's feature back-up stores, mostly reprints of old material. To me that's not worth it.
That's not to say the $2.99 books are now safe. Red Robin, Gotham City Sirens & New Mutants are just some of the books I've dialed back on becasue they didn't really grab me.
While it may not be an entirly accurate statment, right now I view DC and Marvel as more of corporation than I do comic book companies. I feel a real disconnect between the the readers and the material. That may be just me. As far I know I'm the only guy who reads Blackest Night and doesn't have an errection while reading it.
This past year Top Cow had made a vow to hold their $2.99 price point. It was a bold statment and one that I found to be very comforting. Perhaps as a smaller publisher they can more readily relate to the woes that many of their customers are feeling financialy. Perhaps they saw a chance to win over other readers who would not be able to keep up with the rising cost of a comic. Whatever it was, for me it worked. I've been steadily increasing my purchases of their titles throughout the year. And while I hope they can hold the line at $2.99 for a while longer, I am well aware that they are in this to be a sucessful company and generate profit. This is America baby, capitalism drives this machine so I can understand if they raise prices. Right now they garnered a lot of good will from me, as has Image as a whole right now. I get the kind of vibe from them that Marvel and DC maybe used to have. But I'm only an outsider - I may be reading this all wrong.
If books like Withcblade, The Darkness or other Image titles like Invincible, Haunt or Spawn raised prices it would be a tough call to make on who would stay and who would go. At this moment my brain says I'd be looking to drop more Marvel or DC titles.
So maybe $3.99 isn't a hard line on my pull board. I'm getting the new PunisherMAX book after all. but it's the sort of invisible boundry that has forced me to really evaluate what I'm reading and just how much I'm enjoying books. Am I reading a title out of a loyalty to the character? Some sort of completionist mentaility? Or just some sick desire to try and read it all?
Whatever the case was, it is no more. I work hard for my money and I'll be damned if I just give it away anymore.
Besides, if I wait long enough I can raid the dollar bins at comic conventions!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
A new day....
Hoping to get my blogging back on track. Hockey season is usually a nice place to start but I've got a few new ideas to share on here.
I'll also plan to blog while I'm on my east coast trip next week. Baseball Hall of Fame here I come!
Stay tuned.
Please.
I'll also plan to blog while I'm on my east coast trip next week. Baseball Hall of Fame here I come!
Stay tuned.
Please.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
This ain't over!
Caps 4 Rangers 0
Forcing a game 6 back at MSG in New York on Sunday. A great game all around but it's best summed up by this -
"Simply sensational!"
Forcing a game 6 back at MSG in New York on Sunday. A great game all around but it's best summed up by this -
"Simply sensational!"
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